Registration	October 4 - Jan 10
Training sessions	January 9 - February 20 10 am to noon
Walk, Run, Stroll the 5k Distance Classic	Saturday, February 27
Gasparilla celebration party	Sunday, March 7 1 to 3 pm

First Unity is honored to be the very first church invited to participate in this fund raising opportunity at the February 2009 Gasparilla Distance Classic. 2010 will be our second year participating in this outreach event.

There are many facets to our participation. First, it is an excellent way for us to join together as a team and share the message of Unity by “Walking in Faith.” Our participation shows our solidarity for the message of unity and love, peace and tolerance in our world.

Secondly, it shows our commitment to better health. As we train together and give more focus on our physical bodies we honor the life we have been given in a very real way. It’s also a great way to develop new friendships and support teams that believe in your commitment for good health.

Third, this is an important event to participate in because it is our largest fund raiser of the year. By raising sponsorship money for your commitment to completing the 5K Gasparilla Distance Classic you are supporting the message of unity and all the wonderful events, activities and outreach that we do year-round.

• Ask one person to contribute $250
• Ask 5 people to contribute $50
• Ask 10 people to contribute $25
• Ask 25 people for $10

• Ask a relative or a friend
• Ask a local merchant
• Ask your hairstylist or barber
• Ask your boss
• Ask your civic club or organization
• Ask your neighbors and co-workers

The Gasparilla Distance Classic Association, established in 1978, is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated specifically to raising funds for charitable youth organizations and running programs in the Tampa Bay area.

The Gasparilla Distance Classic Association takes great pride in its mission. Since the first running of the Gasparilla Distance Classic in February, 1978, $2.8 million has been donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa, Girls Inc. of Pinellas, The Friends of Tampa Parks & Recreation and other running programs.

Start as early as you can and set yourself the goal you want to raise. Consider the size of your target carefully. If you set one too low, people will give smaller donations accordingly; equally, if you set a ridiculously large one, people will consider it wholly unattainable and may give nothing. Be prepared to increase your target as you get closer to it; moreover, increasing your target to ensure that it is always just out of reach generally induces more giving. Consider starting with $500 as a target and be prepared to increase that further depending how well you are doing and how much time you have left.

Send an email to all your friends, family, neighbors- in fact everybody you know! -  to let them know how easy it is to sponsor you as you “Walk in Faith to Finish Strong in Unity!” Include this direct link to our secure online sponsorship form. They will find you name, enter an amount to donate and hit submit. It’s easy! They will receive a “thank you” email, as well as instructions for getting year-end tax information for their donation.
 
One of the best ways to raise money is just to ask - it is no more sophisticated than that.  Write a short, succinct email, summarizing the reason why you are walking in faith and “Finishing Strong in Unity.”  Tell them what you are doing (the challenge), why you are doing it (the purpose), when you are doing it, and how the money raised will be spent.

I’m walking/running in the 2010 Publix Supermarkets Gasparilla Distance Classic and I am asking for your support. Please consider sponsoring me for this run/walk and support my commitment to health and to the presence of unity and peace in our world. This tax-deductible donation can be made very easily and securely online here: http://www.firstunity.org/sponsor-a-runner.

Thank you for your support...no donation is too big or too small, any amount helps me to reach my goal.

I’m walking/running in this race because I believe in unity. Unity stands for peace in the presence of conflict; for love in the presence of hatred; for forgiveness in the presence of injury. Unity stands for peace in our lifetime. 100% of funds raised will benefit First Unity of St Petersburg. Our impact into the community can be felt in many ways. We also provide youth programs, adult education programs, low-cost yoga and meditation classes, and have been bringing leading-edge speakers and leaders to St Petersburg— for more than 13 years.

Many employers will match the funds you raise or can at least make a substantial contribution. If your employer has a magazine or website, write an article for it. Moreover, if your local community has a magazine, write an article for that too. Keep it short and pithy and if they can reproduce a photo of you, supply one. You'd be amazed just how many people read these articles, and act on what they read. You've basically got a great news story to tell, so ensure that it gets told. Prepare a press release and send it to local and regional newspapers including periodicals. Better still, rope in a friend with some experience to write one for you (unless you've had experience) and ask them to take care of your 'PR'.

• Keep your sponsorship form on you at all times. You never know when you might bump into someone who might sponsor you. Don’t forget a pen too!
• Start your sponsorship efforts as early as possible and be organized. This way you have the best way of raising the maximum amount of money without the process being stressful or rushed.
• Look into matched giving, either through the company you work for, or another business. Through matched giving, someone, usually a business, agrees to donate a pound for every pound you raise (or match the money you have raised in a similar way).
• Write to local companies to ask if they would be interested in sponsoring you. A well written letter or email will increase your chances of success. A letter you can copy is included in this packet.
• Raise publicity for your sponsored event. Contacting local and national papers, magazines and radio stations could help raise awareness of your cause and also to attract many more sponsors.
• If you have a particular reason for raising money for a certain charity, for example a personal experience, be honest with sponsors about it. Avoid preaching or being pushy but giving people some background information about the charity or the event may make them more likely to sponsor you.
• Leave a sponsor form in a prominent place such as a staff room at work, a gym changing room or a bulletin board. People can still sign up for sponsorship without you being there and this is also a good option for those who find approaching people directly for sponsorship a little awkward.
• Give sponsorship forms to friends and family as well so that they can try and raise sponsorship amongst their contacts. Widen the pool of potential sponsors and the numbers will soon start to add up.

Collect your sponsorship funds and turn them in by January 31, 2010. You may turn in your funds as often as you choose by dropping them at the church or mailing them to Gasparilla Sponsorships c/o First Unity, 460 46th Avenue North St Petersburg, FL 33703.